


Come and Lay With Me

by grunge_ish



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Fan Entity, M/M, Sort of AU?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24547282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grunge_ish/pseuds/grunge_ish
Summary: Martin escaped the Lonely, but he has no idea where he is and he doesn't know how long his resolve can continue. He's starting to lose hope.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Tim Stoker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Come and Lay With Me

Martin had been walking for at least six hours. He had finally managed to escape the cloud of the Lonely, but when he emerged, he had no idea where he was. There were a few people out at this time of night, but he didn't see anyone he knew and he certainly didn't see the Institute anywhere. Faces passed him but he could barely make any of them out. His head spun, his eyes unfocused, and his knees shook, he was working his body far too hard and he knew he needed food, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. To onlookers, he might have looked drunk, if any of them were actually paying attention to him. Nondescript buildings passed on each side of him, until he wandered out of what seemed to be the city center and into the more suburban area. The houses were starting to look more and more similar, this both worried and relieved Martin. He kept walking, his feet aching and his muscles burning. His eyes began to focus again as a familiar brick house came into view. Hope and fear battled in his mind as he recognized the house as Tim's. He knew the house from an office party that he invited everyone at the Institute to.

_It was a Friday when Martin showed up at Tim's house for the office party. He had made crock-pot hot coco even though Tim repeatedly told him that he didn't have to bring anything. Sasha was the one to open the door, Martin could see that Tim was pulling some chicken out of the oven behind her._

_"Martin! You made it!" Sasha ushered him inside and he followed her silently, he felt out of place, but he couldn't pin down why. "What have you got there?" Sasha motioned to the crock-pot that Martin was holding and he held it up sheepishly._

_"I know Tim said that I didn't need to bring anything, but I brought some hot coco as a thank you for inviting me!" Sasha smiled and Tim came in from the kitchen. He took the crock-pot with a smile._

_"This is going to taste amazing Martin, thank you." He took the crock-pot to the kitchen and called to Martin. "You didn't have to bring a thank you though, your presence is enough!" Martin laughed at that but he could feel his cheeks going pink. Sasha motioned him into the kitchen and Tim served the food. They talked and laughed with each other the entire night and Martin's feeling of not-belonging faded quicker than it ever had before._

Martin found himself at the front door as he remembered that night fondly. He found his hand knocking on the door before he had fully snapped out of the memory. Tim was the one to open the door this time, his hair was tousled from sleep and he was only wearing a pair of boxers. It was clear that he had interrupted his sleep. As Tim rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked at Martin, the larger man was flushed a soft red, both out of embarrassment and attraction. Tim yawned and then smiled sleepily at Martin. 

"Love, you're finally back from work. Jon's still sleeping. Come on in." Martin blinked at him a few times, confused, but Tim simply grabbed his hand and guided him inside. Buttercup, the friendlier of Tim's two cats, rubbed against Martin's leg as he followed Tim upstairs. As they walked, reality hit Martin like a ton of bricks. He fought to keep himself walking as the image of the Wax Museum exploding played over and over in his mind. He shuddered as he tried to distract himself, acutely aware that he was holding the hand of a dead man. His eyes fell on Tim's hands, they were unmarked. No worm hole scars to be seen, just smooth skin and a few calluses. "Martin, dearest, are you alright?" Martin didn't even notice that Tim had stopped walking until he was about to bump into him. 

As Martin looked at the pure loving concern on Tim's face, he felt his heart skip a beat. "Of course." He forced a yawn and then a smile. "I'm just really tired." Tim hummed in affirmation and continued to what Martin assumed was their bedroom. As he went to open the door, a sleepy voice called from within.

"Timothy Stoker-Blackwood, you better have a damned good reason for waking me up at this ungodly hour." Tim laughed as he opened the door, allowing Martin to walk in before him, to placate the grumpy and sleepy Jon. Martin could've sworn his heart stopped when he saw Jon, his signature eye bags gone, his skin unmarred, and his face calm. He was wearing what seemed to be one of Martin's old shirts. "Martin," Jon's voice was so full of love that Martin felt tears well in his eyes. He didn't cry though, he allowed instinct to take over as he removed his sweater and the rest of his clothes, save for his undershirt and his boxers. Tim stepped past him, climbing into the bed on one side of Jon, leaving the other side open for him.

"Well Jon, is that a good enough reason?" Jon laughed as Martin climbed into the bed next to him, Tim grabbing his hand over Jon's small frame.

"It's the only reason I'll accept." Jon leaned back to press a kiss to Martin's lips. "Welcome home hun." Tim fell asleep first, Jon falling asleep just a bit after, and the sound of their combined breathing and the feeling of Jon's warm body next to his aching one lulled Martin to sleep finally.

_"Martin! Martin!" Jon's panicked voice called out. "Are you there? Have you escaped The Lonely yet? I'm still looking for you." Jon's tired and fear-filled face appeared as he spoke, his eyebags more prominent than ever before. "I won't stop looking for you Martin. Please be okay."_

Martin woke up with a start, still holding Tim's hand and wrapped around Jon's body. He felt guilty, but this was everything he had ever wanted. He pressed a kiss to the top of Jon's head and forced himself to fall back asleep, still fighting over whether or not he was a horrible person. 

The smell of chocolate chip and banana pancakes woke Martin up, Tim had already gotten up, but Jon was still asleep, and apparently, some point during the night, he had turned and begun to cling to Martin tightly. If he wanted to get up, he would have to wake Jon up as well, something he already hated to do. He didn't have to wait long for Jon to wake up though. As he looked down at the smaller man with an expression described best as lovestruck, Jon slowly opened his eyes. He pulled an arm from around Martin to rub his eyes and smiled up at Martin.

"Good morning love, do you want some pancakes?" Jon nodded sleepily, yawning and removing his body from Martin's. Martin got up, not bothering to get dressed and began to walk downstairs to where Tim was making pancakes. There were two plates already set out, one with chocolate pancakes and one with banana. Ash, the other cat Tim owned, was sitting in the chair in front of the banana pancakes. Tim turned around as Martin walked in, wearing a big smile and a novelty pink apron. Martin laughed as he sat down, noticing that the clock on the wall was weird, almost like there weren't actually numbers on it. "Hey Tim, what time is it?"

Tim looked at the clock like nothing was wrong with it and answered easily. "Its 6:45. Are you so tired that you've forgotten how to read clocks?" Martin shook his head, and shrugged, eating his pancakes instead of answering. They had an oddly quality about them, almost like the taste wasn't exactly all there, but they still tasted nice so, Martin ate them. As he did, Jon came downstairs, wearing a shirt that was far too big for him (Martin's) and shorts that hung off of his slim hips (Tim's). He shooed Ash out of his chair and sat down to eat happily. As Martin looked around the room, his eyes fell on a piece of paper along the far wall. It was a college diploma, and it had his name on it.

_"You realize he fucking lied on his application right Tim? He didn't even fucking graduate high school." Jon's eyes were filled with anger as he looked at Tim. Tim clenched his fists and responded in a voice that was dripping in venom._

_"Yes Jon. I know that. Everyone in the fucking office knows that. But he's still a fucking person! He may be the least useful person here, but Jesus Christ he's still an employee!" Tim ran a hand through his hair in anger. "You never think of anyone but yourself you fucking prick."_

_"Maybe. But at least I actually do my fucking job! And at least I didn't fucking sleep my way to the top." Jon spat out the words and Tim's face went red with rage. Sasha had to pull him away, he wouldn't lay a hand on Sasha, no matter what. So she was always the one to diffuse the few fights that happened. Martin had been trying to disappear into the shelves as this happened, but as his horrific luck would have it, Jon turned his scorching glare on him. Martin had never felt so hated in his life._

Martin was shook from his memories by the feeling on Jon kissing him on the cheek. "I've got to go and get ready for work, you're on vacation right?" Martin was still halfway in his memory so he just nodded and smiled. Tim moved to sit in the chair that Jon had vacated, putting a plate of just regular pancakes down in front of himself. 

"I don't have work until a little later, so I can keep you company." Martin smiled and kissed Tim softly on the cheek. Why not take advantage of this? After all of it, after everything he's lived through, doesn't he deserve this happiness?

"Thank you." They ate their pancakes in comfortable silence. Martin's heart was full of love and happiness and everything was good. Except it wasn't. When Jon came downstairs, he was dressed in a cardigan and his glasses, he kissed both Martin and Tim before he left, telling them that he would be back soon. He didn't check the lock on the door, he didn't make sure that they were safe before he left, he didn't even look out any of the windows for watchers. While Martin and Tim were watching TV, a clown came on the screen and Tim didn't immediately change the channel, he barely even looked disturbed by it.

It was the small things like this, Jon telling a stranger on the street that he dropped his wallet, Tim offhandedly mentioning that the carnival was coming to town, Jon forgetting to lock doors or windows, Tim being surprised by a small mannerism of Martin's, and a few other similar things that made Martin realize that no matter how much he wished that these were the men he loved, they weren't. And they never had been. One night, before the fake Tim had come home from work, fake Jon confronted him.

"Martin, you don't love us, do you?" Even if he wasn't Jon, the being still wore his face and seeing the hurt and sadness in his eyes broke something in Martin.

"You aren't him. I know that now. I'm sorry." Fake Jon sighed and his face dropped.

"Isn't this everything you wanted? You graduated. You have a degree. You have the two men you loved, one of which you lost." The fake Jon picked up a picture frame, it showed Martin and his mother, in full health and a man that looked almost exactly like Martin, his father. "You have your mother and your father! I'm not broken beyond repair. The Entities can't get you in here, you're safe, you're loved, you were happy. What else could you need?" Martin felt tears well in his eyes again but he blinked them away. The being was making a lot of good points, this was everything that he had ever wanted, but it wasn't really. He wanted Jon, the real Jon and he wanted Tim, the real Tim, with all the trauma and baggage and danger. He wanted the good and the bad.

"Why do you want me to stay so badly?" Martin had been walking backwards, slowly, as to avoid the being in front of him noticing.

"Because I love you Martin Blackwood!" The image of Jon, even if it's not the real Jon, saying that, broke more of the resistance in Martin. " Jon loves you, Tim loved you, but they don't deserve you! They are broken, they need fixing, I don't need that. I can fix you." The being reached for him, and Martin allowed himself to be grabbed. It put his hand over it's chest, and Martin felt the quick beating of its heart. It moved Martin's hand up to it's face, tears falling from it's eyes. Almost out of instinct, Martin wiped the tears away and it smiled at him, tears still falling. That broke whatever was left of his resistance.

"Alright. I'll stay." A smile lit up Jon's face and Martin felt himself smile as well, a fuzziness filled his body and he moved to the couch to sit with Jon and watch TV. As time went on, the fuzzy feeling grew, by the time Tim was home and it was time to go to sleep, Martin didn't even remember why he had been wanting to leave in the first place. He was happy, he was loved, there was nowhere else in the world that he would rather be. Martin fell asleep to the sound of Tim's heartbeat mixed with Jon's and his own. As he fell asleep, he saw Jon's sleeping face twist into an almost sinister smile, but he thought nothing of it. Why would he? He had loved Jon from the moment he met him, and laying next to him in their bed was everything he had ever wanted.

Jon, the real Jon, put his head in his hands. He had been looking for Martin for almost 10 months now, he was starting to give up hope that the search was even worth it. He couldn't find Martin with The Beholding, which meant that either he was already dead or he was still stuck in The Lonely. Jon wiped the tears from his eyes as he stood up and continued his search for Martin. He couldn't give up, Martin wouldn't give up on him. He knew that for a fact.

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea while listening to The Mechanisms. This specifically is based off the song Sirens from Ulysses Dies at Dawn.


End file.
